He was arrested for a Covid joke. It was free speech, court rules

I found this interesting because it’s a rare case where an appellate court ruled that the police’s “qualified immunity” protection does not apply.

> “The post did not direct any person or group to take any unlawful action immediately or in the near future,” the judges wrote. “ … at worst, his post was a joke in poor taste, but it cannot be read as intentionally directed to incitement.”

> Iles violated Bailey’s First Amendment right and had no probable cause to arrest Bailey, the court said in its ruling, meaning he is not entitled to qualified immunity.

The “joke”:

> “SHARE SHARE SHARE ! ! ! !” Bailey wrote in an emoji-filled post. “JUST IN: RAPIDES PARISH SHERIFFS OFFICE HAVE ISSUED THE ORDER, IF DEPUTIES COME INTO CONTACT WITH ‘THE INFECTED’ SHOOT ON SIGHT….Lord have mercy on us all. #Covid9teen #weneedyoubradpitt.”

Not a funny joke and could cause panic (do you all not remember the mindset of everyone back then?) but ok fine.

> Bailey was released on a $1,200 bond later that day, and the district attorney decided not to prosecute him. Still, Bailey said he lost lifelong friends when local news stations reported on his arrest. He said he deleted his social media accounts and barely left his house for months.

Spare me, you lost “lifelong friends” because of your arrest? Bullshit, they either weren’t real friends (so why do you care?) or they were put off but a, at best, very bad taste joke. With terrible writing like this I don’t care about the rest of the story.

Shame on the district course judge who dismissed his lawsuit. That was a pretty harmless joke so how did the judge think it would cause lawlessness?